On Sunday, the Bradley women’s tennis team finished the 2014-2015 season with an 11-12 record.
On paper, that may appear to be slightly below average. However, the team actually finished with its best record since the 1993-1994 season, the last time Bradley women’s tennis finished above .500.
Head coach Matt Tyler said this year was a landmark season for the women.
“We did some things that Bradley women’s tennis hasn’t done in a long time,” Tyler said. “Winning two conference matches for this program was something that hasn’t been done in 25 years, so it was outstanding.”
However, the skid-ending season was capped off with two losses to Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) foes in Southern Illinois (SIU) and Evansville to send the team into the MVC tournament.
Against SIU, the Braves faced one of the best MVC home records, as the Salukis improved to 11-1 on their home courts this year.
The Braves lone point in the singles matches was from sophomore Ashley Thai, who was also nursing a sprained ankle, as the team fell 6-1.
Against Evansville, the team was scheduled to play at 10 a.m. last Sunday. However, the match had to be moved inside and later into the evening due to inclement weather.
“It was raining the whole day,” sophomore Ariel Dechter said. “Then they had a junior tournament, so then [we] couldn’t get indoor courts until seven at night.”
Tyler said the nine-hour match delay threw off the team’s rhythm due to the needed adjustment.
“You can kind of look at it both ways,” Tyler said. “I think it was beneficial in the fact that we got to rest, hit a few balls and prepare.”
When the match eventually got underway, the Braves could only muster up one more point than their last match, as they fell 5-2 to the Purple Aces.
Thai was not the only singles winner this time, as fellow freshman Alexa Brandt added the other point for Bradley.
“We didn’t play as well against SIU as I would’ve liked, but we rebounded really well against Evansville,” Tyler said. “[They’re] tough teams, especially when you go on the road. It’s hard to pick up wins; we were hoping we could come away with just one of those.”
However, the Braves will make a reprise visit to the Evansville courts today, as they take on Northern Iowa at 2 p.m. in the MVC tournament.
“We’re very optimistic about what we can do against that team,” Tyler said. “We’ve prepared all season long for the conference tournament, [and] I don’t think you change much up at this point.”
Win or lose in the MVC tournament, Tyler said that the perception of Bradley women’s tennis has changed due to the past year.
“The stigma the last few years was that teams were going to come in, and Bradley was going to be a win for them, and I think we have changed that for them,” Tyler said. “We’re no longer the team that we have been in the past, and we’re going to compete, and we’re going to be one of the teams in the hunt for a Valley title.”
